The United States Postal Service (USPS) Automated Flats Sorting Machine 100 (AFSM 100) has three high-speed feeders and can handle 7200 pieces per hour. This high-speed automation has increased the demand of mail on system feeders. Operational experience has shown that this demand is challenging for operators to meet. Operators are required to place approximately 10″ of mail onto a feeder per minute. Mail must be placed in proper orientation (binding down with the mailing label facing to the right) and ‘groomed’ to ensure proper system operation. In order to reduce the requirements on feeder operators, USPS pre-processes mail fed into this machinery. In the pre-processing step mail is converted from its current container to an Automation Compatible Trays, or ACTs. The ACTs allow the mail to be fed automatically into the feeders.
Currently, mail is manually pre-processed into ACTs using a mail preparation station. Mail is conveyed in bundle form or standard USPS tray to an operator who places the mail into an ACT. Once the mail is placed into the ACT, the ACT is transported on conveyors to the automated feeders. In order for the mail preparation station to supply the automated feeders, multiple mail preparation stations are required, which require labor and floor space. These preparation operations are manually intensive and typical represent more than 50% of the cost to process the mail. This offsets a portion of the savings created by the processing/sequencing operations. A method of automating the preprocessing of mail into ACTs from its current form would be highly desirable and reduce the amount of labor required.